Speed Loaders or Strips

[Crestliner]

I like the concept of the strips vs. round loaders because of the ease of concealment. However, I'm not sure if it's pure folly to consider the strips, as your reload time sould be dramatically increased. This will be for a new SP101 .357 which I'll be picking up this week. From what my other shooting companions are saying, it appears the SP is not conducive to the round drop-in speed loaders; due to the short ejection rod and grip interferance. Thoughts? Opinions? Thanks folks!

 

[Sarge]

The short SP101 actually has about as much ejector rod travel as some bigger guns, due to the fact that the front of the rod doesn't serve as a latch; so the rod can be longer in the same-sized shroud. That said, it will not 'clear' magnum cases- again, like many larger guns. You overcome this by tilting the barrel skyward upon reloading and striking the ejector rod smartly. It will clear them then.

I carry a SP101 and have settled on the Safariland-style speedloaders w/o the knob, which release the cartridges when pressed into the cylinder. They seem to clear the stock grips a little better than HKS does- and I have both. Don't be afraid to remove a little grip material if that's what it takes to facilitate trouble-free reloads under pressure.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Speed Strips either, and they do in fact carry better in a jacket pocket. Be advised that they are soft rubber however and they will hang on material if you aren't careful.

 

[KMO]

"Speedless" Strips

I agree with both of you regarding the strips being good for carry & concealment. But, that's about as far as they go. The two-at-a-time method they recommend for using the strips just doesn't deserve the word, "speed," attached to it. Try one this way...Just grab your rounds in one hand and tear away the strip. You can load 4 or 5 with your hand into the cylinder fasting than the 2-at-a-time method. It's almost a "speed" strip this way...

 

[chris in va]

I have the Hogue monogrip on my SP. The inside shell won't eject without me rotating the cylinder due to the grip. Same goes for the speedloader, it gets in the way.

When I find some strips locally, I'll be picking them up. I can keep 3 of those suckers in my pockets without the bulge.